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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-17-2012 Minutes SOUTH BEND BOARD OF PARK COMMISSIONERS REGULAR MEETING SEPTEMBER 17,2012 The Board of Park Commissioners of the Park District of the City of South Bend, Indiana met on Monday September 17, 2012 at the O'Brien Administration & Recreation Center, 321 E. Walter St., South Bend, Indiana for its regular meeting. Notice of the date,time and place of the meeting were duly given as required by law. Park Board members present were as follows: Ms. Amy Hill, Vice President Mr. Garrett Mullins Mr. Bruce BonDurant Park Board members absent were as follows: Mr. Robert Goodrich, President Staff members present: Phil St. Clair, Executive Director; Bill Carleton, Fiscal Officer;Betsy Harriman, Administrative Director; Susan O'Connor,Recreation Director; Randy Nowacki, Director of Golf Operations; Laura Arriaga, Interim Zoo Director; Richard Payton, Development Director; Mike Dyszkiewicz, Maintenance Superintendent; Cheryl Greene, Park Board Attorney I. The meeting was called to order by Board Vice President Amy Hill at 4:14 p.m. New board member Mr. Bruce BonDurant had not been sworn in and therefore, a quorum was not present. While waiting for a member of the Clerk's Office to arrive to swear in Mr. BonDurant, staff reports were given. II. Comments by the Recreation Director 1. Ms. O'Connor reported gave a recap of the summer's activities 2. 27,007 children were served in the summer lunch program. 3. Attendance at the Potawatomi Pool was 7,914, slightly more than last year. At the Kennedy Water Playground, attendance was 5,318,up from 4,082 last year. 4. Concert attendance was very good due to good weather. No concerts were canceled. 5. The South Bend Community Olympics were held in August and attendance was up 34% this year. 6. Flag Football began August 25. 7. The Recreation Centers have started their after school programming. King Center held an event and 330 children received school supplies. The event was hosted by St. John's Church, the Senior Men's Club and Black Expo. At Charles Black Center,their back to school party was hosted by LaSalle Park Homes and gave away school supplies to 100 children. 8. The Charles Black Center has 50 students in their after school program and King Center has 48. 10. River City Basketball League registration began September 3. 11. Over Labor Day weekend the national 16" slow pitch tournament was held. 22 teams competed and evaluations were very good. - - I - - 12. The annual volunteer recognition event will be held on October 11 at the Chris Wilson Pavilion. 13. Rum Village Park hosted a cross country meet for 5-8 graders that is sponsored by the South Bend Community School Corporation. Over 500 participants are expected. M. Comments by the Development Director 1. Mr. Payton reported that the CAPRA accreditation process has wrapped up. 2. The Director's Golf Outing was held in August and was a successful event. Thirty-four foursomes participated. 2. There are several grants that are being prepared. One is to digitize the records from the Cemeteries. This will preserve paper records from as far back as the 1800s. A forestry grant is being requested to offset the planting of trees to replace those lost to the emerald ash borer. The third is for additional playground equipment. 3. Four award nominations for the Indiana Parks and Recreation Association have been submitted for 2012 programs. 4. A meeting was held with Capt. Boykins regarding the perception of safety as it pertains to some of the Active Youth Initiative programs we are planning. IV. Comments by the Interim Zoo Director 1. Ms. Arriaga reported that Zoo Boo is the next event at the Zoo and they will begin preparing soon. 2. Several animal shipments are in the works. A snow leopard is coming from Philadelphia; a red panda is coming from Minnesota, and a chimpanzee from Florida. A pocket owl is going to Los Angeles and a chimpanzee is going to Knoxville, Tennessee. 3. Tripping hazards are being repaired. 4. Dr. Stockinger,the Zoo's veterinarian, has resigned to take another position. Advertising for this position is underway. V. Swearing In of Park Board Member Bruce BonDurant Ms. Wisniewski of the City Clerk's Office swore in Mr. BonDurant. VI. Comments by the Golf Operations Director 1. Mr. Nowacki reported that yardage books are available at both classes. This is included as part of the agreement with the scorecard provider. 2. The Indiana Department of Environmental Management approved the application for the master plan at Elbel Golf course. This application is valid for five years. 3. The irrigation pumps at Erskine Golf Course have been installed and are operational. 4. Drainage problems on the#12, 16, and putting greens have corrected. Drainage tile have been replaced. 5. Vinyl siding on the Elbel Pro Shop is being replaced. 6. An effort to control the geese on Elbel is underway using dogs to chase them off the fairways. It seems that progress is being made. 7. Fall rates will begin on September 17. - - Z - - VII. Comments by Maintenance Superintendent 1. Mr. Mike Dyszkiewicz informed the Board that the splash pad at Potawatomi Park is coming along. Concrete work will be finished this week. 2. Ice rink quotes will be opened today. 3. Conservatory irrigation has been installed. Seeding will take place soon. The alley has been paved. 4. King Center gym has been refinished and painting will take place this week. 5. The King Center softball field has been finished and is ready for play. 6. Several locations have had their courts patched. 7. Members of the Maintenance Division were commended for their ingenuity in constructing a controller box for the King Center splash pad for$250 rather than buying a $6,500 box. VIII. The Next Order of Business was the Interviewing of Interested Citizens There were no interested citizens wishing to address the Board. IX. Reports By Organizations 1. Presentation and Discussion of Energy Week for Parks- Jonathon Burke, Jonathon Geels a. Mr. Geels of the Municipal Energy Office informed the Board that Energy Week is coming up for the City. b. The hydro turbine has been installed in the East Race. c. During Energy Week energy awareness, educational opportunities and efficiency will be promoted. Five Expos will be held around the City. Director St. Clair added that the electricity from the hydroelectric turbine will be used to power Howard Park, including the Ice Rink. 2. Potawatomi Zoological Society- Marcy Dean a. Ms. Dean reported that the recently held Zoo Brew was well attended with over 1,200 attending. b. The Zoo Train will be shut down for the season on October 31. Ridership has been steady. c. The Butterfly Exhibit has been closed. d. Zoo Boo preparations will begin in early October. e. An adult event, the Jack-O-Lantern Spooktacular, will be held the day before Zoo Boo begins. The proceeds will help offset Zoo Boo expense. f. She will bring a list of 2013 events for Board approval to the next meeting. 3. Botanical Society-Heidi Grey a. A music event was held at the Conservatory. It was fairly well attended. b. A membership drive will be held during the month of October. c. Freaky Flower Friday will be held on October 25 for children. d. Dr. Schnabel will hold a science fair workshop for fourth through sixth graders during October. e. A series of talks by university professors concerning their research projects is planned. f. Yoga classes are being held on Saturdays and continue to be popular. - -3 - - g. Volunteers from Crowe-Horwath are coming over this Friday and will help where needed. h. A bike rack was purchased with donations and installed by Park Maintenance. 4. South Bend Silver Hawks- Peter Argueta a. Mr. Argueta, Assistant Operations Manager for the South Bend Silver Hawks,reported that 2012 was a great year for the team. Attendance was over 187,000. Team owner Andrew Berlin has said he hopes to have over 300,000 next year. b. Ball Park Digest named Coveleski the best renovated ball park in all minor league baseball. c. The new field held up well under heavy use including eight special events. d.Next year new group areas will be added and more concerts are being planned to utilize the stadium more. X. The next order of business was unfinished business. There was no unfinished business. XI. The next order of business was new business. 1. Request to Approve Arborist Licenses The following new license application was presented for approval by the Board a. Foegley Landscape, Inc Mr. Mullins made a motion to approve the application of the arborist license and Mr. BonDurant seconded the motion. It was passed. 2. Requests for Use of Parks-Betsy Harriman Ms. Harriman requested the Board approve the following requests a. Physicians Holistic Alliance Scholarship Walk-Pinhook and River-walk - October 6th b. Michael Jackson Tribute, Seitz Park, September 30 c. Out of the Darkness Suicide Prevention Walk-Howard Park -November 4th Mr. Mullins made the motion to approve the above requests and Mr. BonDurant seconded it. The motion was approved. 3. Request to dispose of Coveleski Bleachers-Betsy Harriman Ms. Harriman requested permission to dispose of the bleachers from Coveleski Stadium that were replaced in the renovations this year. It has not been determined if they will be scrapped or sold. Mr. Mullins made a motion to approve the request to dispose of the bleachers and Mr. Bondurant seconded it. The Board approved the motion. 4. Request to Approve Letter of Understanding with the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County Concerning the Potawatomi Park Splash Pad- Ms. Greene Ms. Greene explained that the Park Department and the Community Foundation are partnering on the installation of a splash pad in Potawatomi Park. This letter of understanding describes the responsibilities of the parties during construction and after. Mr. BonDurant made the motion to approve the Letter of Understanding between the Park Department and the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County. Mr. Mullins seconded the motion and the Board approved it by voice vote. - - 4 - - 5. Opening of Quotes for Repair of Howard Park Ice Rink-Mike Dyszkiewicz Mr. Dyszkiewicz gave the Board some pictures of the Ice Rink and equipment showing the extent of the repairs needed. He stated that work would need to begin soon to be ready for opening Thanksgiving weekend. He presented two sealed quotes for repair of the Howard Park Ice Rink from Dynamic Mechanical Services, Inc. and BC Mechanical. Ideal Consolidated was solicited but did not submit a quote. a. Dynamic Mechanical Services, Inc.- base bid, $30,171; alt#1, $18,685 b. BC Mechanical- base bid, $163,700; alt#1, $83,900 Mr. Chris Chockley of Wightman-Petrie, the engineer for this project commented that they met with the contractors last week to explain the project. The specifications were specific as to lineal feet of piping, etc. and this was discussed at the site. Mr. Dyszkiewicz requested that the Board award the quote to Dynamic Mechanical to include the base and alternate for the amount of$48,856. Mr. Mullins made a motion to award the quote for repairs to the Howard Park Ice Rink to Dynamic Mechanical Services, Inc. for the amount of$48,856. Mr. Bondurant seconded the motion and it was passed. XII. Approval of Minutes Mr. Mullins made a motion to approve the minutes of the regular Board meetings held on June 18 and July 16,2012 as mailed. Ms. Hill seconded the motion and it was passed. XIII. Approval of Maintenance Vouchers Mr. Bondurant made a motion to approve maintenance vouchers for the months of July 2012 totaling$1,122,819.24 and August 2012 totaling$1,378,553.91. It was seconded by Mr. Mullins . There being no further discussion, the motion was passed. XW. Business of Director St. Clair 1. Director St. Clair distributed information regarding the issuance of park bonds in the state of Indiana. 10 of eighteen class 2 cities in Indiana have active bonds. South Bend has not had a park bond in 40 years. He has discussed this with the administration and common council in regards to reestablishing a park bond to address our capital and major repair issues. 2. He showed the Board samples of surveys we have done through the year. One was from the golf courses and it is integrated into the GPS display on the golf carts. A second one was from the Blues and Ribs Fest and concerned the quality of the bands and experience. The third was from the national softball tournament that was recently held at Belleville. This was provided to us from the softball association and was compiled by them from responses of the participating teams. Finally, he distributed an economic impact survey from that tournament that was compiled from responses from them members concerning their spending while in the area. 3. The reconfiguring of Fellows Street due to the by-pass construction was the subject of a recent meeting held here. The Economic Planners offered several options, including using Walter Street as a conduit to Michigan Street. Walter would need to be made wider and rerouted. Director St. Clair expressed his concern with the speed and volume of traffic that - - 5 - - would be routed very near this facility. Ms. Greene explained that the city has been forced to do this due to the state's mandate. 4. We have been meeting with the South Bend Rotary Club regarding Howard Park. 5. The Department has had discussions with Joys Gymnastics regarding them becoming a program within the Park Department. Currently, we are assisting them with registrations and are exploring the options. 6. Talks with the Zoological Society are still ongoing regarding a public/private partnership. 7. Director St. Clair highlighted the rise in play and attendance at the golf courses and zoo. XV. There being no more business to come before the Board,the meeting adjourned at 5:29 p.m. The next regular meeting will be held Monday October 22, 2012at 4:00 p.m. in the Boardroom of the O'Brien Administration Center. Respectfully Submitted, William Carleton Executive Secretary